Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has been told to pay more than £1,000 to his former landlord, following a county court ruling.

Paul Sampson, 48, succeeded in parts of a legal battle against the former Cabinet Minister over a dispute surrounding offices the Labour MP had rented in Normanton, West Yorkshire.

The dispute centred around four offices the MP rented from Mr Sampson for £80 a week from June 2005 until July 2010.

After he left them last summer, Mr Sampson claimed that there were a number of issues regarding the property and initially sought a total payment of almost £2,000 to cover the costs.

Mr Balls eventually conceded three issues before the case was heard at Leeds County Court yesterday, agreeing to pay a total of £830 for the redecoration of the property, the removal of rubbish and also the removal of furniture left behind.

The MP, who did not attend the hearing, was also ordered to pay £265 towards Mr Sampson’s legal costs.

Mr Balls won his battle against the disputed claims of rent owed to Mr Sampson, paying for a replacement burglar alarm after he had taken one with him and the replacement of a stained carpet.

Mr Sampson claimed he had agreed a five per cent increase in rent with Mr Balls with a gentleman’s handshake, the court heard.

He said he was subsequently owed over £300 as a result, but District Judge John Flanagan turned down his claim, saying there was no memorandum to prove this agreement.

Mr Sampson also asked for £306 to replace a carpet which he claimed had been damaged beyond repair in the space of two areas.

The judge again refused his claim, saying he could have put a point in the tenancy agreement about the maintenance of the carpet but had failed to do so.

Finally, Mr Sampson asked for the replacement of a sophisticated burglar alarm. Nicholas Toms, representing Mr Balls, said that there was no burglar alarm when the MP took over the office and he had to install a new one.

He had to apply to the House of Commons to cover the cost and subsequently took the alarm with him when he moved to his new office in Morley, near Leeds.

Mr Sampson claimed there had been an alarm when Mr Balls moved in and that he should pay to replace it.

The district judge again found in Mr Balls’s favour, saying the evidence suggested there was not an alarm when he had taken over the premises

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